And then along comes Advent

Dear First Pres SLO Family,

(There are some important updates at the bottom of this letter.)

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Messiah, the one whose coming we celebrate, and whose return we expect.

Advent is a season the goes against most of how we live our lives. We push elevator buttons more than once. Most of us have not only microwave ovens, but a whole arsenal of timesaving kitchen tools. I would be embarrassed if you knew how easily I honk my horn. We don’t like waiting very much at all.

And then along comes Advent.

This first season in the church year is a time of learning to wait—of cultivating a sense of expectation and even longing—it’s meant to recreate the way 1st-century Jews felt, after centuries of waiting for the promised Messiah to come. It’s meant to give us an even greater sense of joy at Christmas, because we worked too long for it.

Even after Jesus came, though, not everyone grasped what was happening. In the traditional Advent Gospel reading for today, we find Jesus speaking with his disciples. The powerful people had missed the point, he says, but his followers should feel blessed that their openness allowed them to recognize a different kind of Messiah than the one they might have expected.

In Luke 10 we see this:

23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

What is it that we see and hear this Advent season? So much of the last two years has been about distance and masking and closing—none of those really lend themselves to seeing something special and new.

And yet…as another year comes to a close, I’m amazed at what I have seen God doing in the life of this church. Fellowship is still happening. We’ve learned new ways to worship together, even when we’re in different places. We continue to grow in our faith through conversations and reading books and participating in classes—even by reading and reflecting on the preaching texts ahead of time. Through it all, we’ve continued to serve the community around us. The meals at 40 Prado haven’t stopped. We still support mission work around the world. Our Blessing Box is quietly replenished like oil in a miraculous lamp.

I hope you see in that last paragraph the vital expressions of the church: Fellowship, Worship, Discipleship and Mission.

We see all of that in the life of this church. Lots of people—apparently even some prophets and kings—wish they could see this in their domains. It is a blessing that we have set aside some of what has divided us in the past, because it allows us a clearer look and what God is doing in us and through us in the present. In that way we’re living into the Gospel reading for today.

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Amen to that.

Blessings to you this Advent season. Stay safe and healthy.

Pastor John